The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-09-07

this special purpose. The royal cells
are not only larger than the Others
but they are oval, instead of hexagon.
| al, in shape; and, while the other in
fants are fed by their nurses with bee
bread, which is preparation of pol
len and honey, the young princesses,
and they only, are RECALLED with spe.
cial food, which is called ''royal jelly
1t often happens that, if mishar
befalls the queen. and she has left nc
royal egg from which a successor may
be hatched the bees will take worker.
egg from its proper receptacle, place
it in a royal cell, feed the larva upon
royal jelly, and, in the course of time a
full-hedged queen will issue forth to
occupy the throne of the deceased
monarch. This is most singular and
wise provision of nature, and che
which naturalists have not yet teen
able clearly to explain.
When the young bee first ventures
into the open air it flies in q circle
around the hive, the circle constantly
expanding until the youngster has
taken its observations of every object
in the vicinity familiarizing itself with
every prominent landmark that may
serve to guide it in its future flights.
After this recommending expedition. the
bee always wings its way in straight
line to its destination, never losing it's
bearings; and even though there may
be hundred hives together, and q
million bees flying in and out of them,
it hastens with unerring certainty to
its own home.
Mistress Bee has three objects in
making these excursions. as she does
hundred times day. She seeks to
collect honey and pollen-the fine fer
tilizing dust of the flowers-and popo-
lis, sticky substance gathered from
the buds or bark of such trees as the
fir, the poplar or the chestnut. The
pollen is stored away as food for the
little ones, and the propolis comes into
use as cement in the delicate masonry
of the hive.
While some of the bees are hunting
in the fields others remain at home to
nurse the infants. store away the
honey and the pollen as it is brought
In, and attend to the thousand and one
duties incident to well-regulated COM
munity.
When Mistress Bee, out in pastures,
alights upon flower, she finds, deep
in its sweet embrace, precious liquid,
rapidly deposited by the blossom in
warm and sunny weather. This she
proceeds to gather. 1t is the honey,
which, being swallowed and digested
by her, is subjected to some
peculiar process before it
is placed in the hive in
the form familiar to us all. The
honey obtained, she proceeds to freight
herself with pollen. This she rolls
into tiny pellets, and slows it away in
pouches in her posterior legs. She
will even completely cover herself with
this dust, and upon reaching home her
sisters will carefully brush her off,
gathering up the precious material,
that nothing may be lost, and place it
in the storehouse cells.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing
in connection with these honey and pol
len gathering excursions of the bee is
the fact that she confines her search to
a single species of flower on each jour-
ney. This is most important. AS it
is one of the bees functions to fer
tilize undeveloped plants with the pol
len proper to its species, the effect of
any mistake on her part would sadly
confuse our botanical studies.
On very warm day you will see
several bees standing at the door of
the hive, with their feet firmly fast
ened to the floor, and Tapping their
wings with all their might. They are
ventilating the hive, and, by this
continued exertion, their wings, OPP
Grating as fans, propel a current of
cool air into their dwelling, and pre-
vent the inmates from suffering by
the intense heat. As this operation
must be very fatiguing, the tanners
are relieved at regular intervals by
others who continue the exercise.
The bees scent is keen. and nothing
annoys her more than an offensive
smell. She is particularly averse to
the odor of perspiration. either upon !
man or beast Neither will she sub
nit to be breathed upon, and great |
care has thus to be exercised by the
bee-keeper in handling his swarms.
When more than one princess is
born, the rivals engage in an immedi-
ate and deadly duel, and the survivor
claims the throne from the mother
queen. who, with such loyal subjects
as choose to follow her, goes
forth into the world in search of a new
nome, which the bee-keeper has care
iully prepared meanwhile, and the
Toung queen remains behind to carry !
IN the work of her royal mother.
Bee-keeplng is pleasant and profit
able industry. 1t is practiced to
greater extent in the United States than
n any other part of the world, and the
oees add millions of dollars a year to
'ur N ational wealth. Any reader of
he Companion, who lives in the coun-
ry, can keep bees if he will first seek
he advice Of an authoritative book up
m the subject; but he must remember
hat bees require as much care as